Known sugar cane harvesters have a limited use, as they can operate only in fields of low and medium density, that have been previously burned, that have been planted on level ground having no surface irregularity, and whose cane stalks are erect or slightly tilted, but not completely tangled or lodged, as occurs in fields of high density.
Existing machines have been found to be incapable of harvesting at a high level of efficiency and at high productivity in fields of varying density or variety where ground conditions vary and where the crop may be erect or tilted or tangled as is frequently the case in the harvesting of sugar cane where the field may be either in its natural, green or burnt condition. The prior machines have also frequently proven to be inadequate in insuring an acceptable degree of cleanliness which is highly important to the sugar industry as is the requirement that a minimum amount of the cane be left on the field.